Raffles Hotel, Perth

Last updated

Raffles Hotel
Raffles 003.jpg
The Raffles Hotel in Applecross, Perth
Raffles Hotel, Perth
General information
TypeHotel
Architectural styleInter-War Functionalist/Art-deco
Location Applecross, Western Australia
Coordinates 32°00′39″S115°51′06″E / 32.01083°S 115.851693°E / -32.01083; 115.851693 (Raffles Hotel) Coordinates: 32°00′39″S115°51′06″E / 32.01083°S 115.851693°E / -32.01083; 115.851693 (Raffles Hotel) OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Completed1896
Renovated1937, 2007, 2015
Technical details
Floor count2
Renovating team
Architect William G. Bennett
References
Designated22 January 2002
Reference no. 1544
The Raffles Hotel in Applecross Raffles 01 gnangarra.JPG
The Raffles Hotel in Applecross

Raffles Hotel is located at the corner of Canning Highway and Canning Beach Road in the Perth, Western Australia suburb of Applecross, Western Australia. It is a two-storey hotel designed in the Inter-War Functionalist style and is one of the few examples of a hotel in this style surviving in the Perth metropolitan area. Earlier named the Canning Bridge Hotel, it has operated continuously as a licensed hotel since at least 1896. For over 50 years until 2002, it was owned by Australian nightclub owner and property developer Abe Saffron, [1] whose plan to demolish the hotel was successfully opposed by the Art Deco Society of Western Australia in a ten-year campaign. [2] [3]

Contents

History

The location of Canning Bridge on the road from Fremantle to Perth and Guildford made it a suitable location for accommodation and refreshments. In January 1850 the first Canning Bridge was constructed and soon after, on 4 May, a liquor licence was granted to a Samuel Duffield, owner of the Bridge Inn of Canning. It is not known where that inn was located but it was possibly a predecessor of the 1896 Canning Bridge Hotel, near the bridge on its western (Applecross) side—which was remodelled in 1937 as the present Raffles Hotel. [4] [5] :p4

The Canning Bridge Hotel was a single-storey structure with a high, gabled roof. Beside it stood a pavilion with a dance hall on the upper floor and refreshment rooms below. The hotel provided a venue for many social and sporting groups such as the W.A. Hunt Club. The hotel was also used by the East Fremantle District Road Board for its first council meeting on 22 March 1901. [5] :p5

This building was extensively upgraded in 1937, with a distinctive Art Deco facade designed by architect William G. Bennett, to coincide with the construction of the current bridge and the upgrading of Canning Highway. The building was renamed the Raffles Hotel after the renowned Raffles Hotel in Singapore. [4] The facade, and in particular the nature and placement of the forward extension of the hotel, reveals a conscious effort on the part of the architect to respect the importance of the newly constructed Applecross District Hall to the community and its streetscape value.

William Bennett had been a partner in the firm Eales Cohen & Bennett, which was responsible for the Applecross District Hall. He left the firm in 1935. Other significant works by Bennett include the Plaza Theatre and Arcade in central Perth (1936–7), the Kalgoorlie Olympic Pool (1938), the Chalet at Araluen and other structures (1937), and the Beaucott Buildings (c.1937) in Beaufort Street.

The hotel was reconstructed at a cost of approximately 10,000 pounds. One of its features was a biergarten, which is believed to be the first of its kind in Australia. The garden was situated on the northern boundary of the hotel property. [5] :p6

Raffles Hotel reveals the new design aesthetic then in vogue of streamlined functional forms with an emphasis on horizontal lines admirably suited to the site. Its design took good advantage of the riverside location. The main feature is the large curved loggias on both floors provided on the river frontage. From there, extensive views of the Swan and Canning Rivers are available. The exterior of the hotel was described as rendered in cream cement with sunk rustication emphasising the horizontal lines on the main building. The pitched roof over the first-storey section was covered in colour-blend tiles, and green-painted circular steps led to the entrances of the hotel from the Canning Highway frontage. [5] :p7

Apart from its status as "the epitome" of Perth's social scene in the 1940s and 1950s, [4] the Raffles later became noted for its animated neon billboards advertising beer. In 1959 a separate motor lodge, consisting of a double-storey building of twenty rooms, was constructed at the rear of the main hotel building. According to the local press this new development met a public demand for motels offering service to the family man. Other changes to the hotel were made in 1985, when apparently a fire caused damage to the first floor which required a new metal-deck roof to replace the former pitched tiled roof. [5] :p9 A nightclub, The Raffs, was also constructed on the eastern (river) side of the building, and a drive-in bottle shop built on the Canning Bridge Road frontage. During the 1970s and 1980s the Raffles was notable for its live music, attracting the most popular local and interstate acts.

The Raffles Hotel was the favourite pub of AC/DC singer Bon Scott. [6]

Current uses

In 2002, the site was sold to the construction company Multiplex, which proceeded to redevelop the site into a 17-storey apartment tower. As part of the planning permissions, the Art Deco 1939 building was retained and renovated. [4]

Heritage value

The hotel was listed in the City of Melville's Municipal Heritage Inventory (which was adopted 19 December 1994) and classified by the National Trust of Western Australia on 3 July 1995. It received an interim listing on the State Register of Heritage Places on 16 March 2001, was nominated for the Register of the National Estate on 28 September 2001, and received a permanent registration on the State Register on 22 January 2002.

Related Research Articles

Swan River (Western Australia) River in Perth, Western Australia

The Swan River is a river in the south west of Western Australia. The river runs through the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia's capital and largest city.

City of Melville Local government area in Western Australia

The City of Melville is a local government area in the southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, east of the port city of Fremantle and about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of 52.73 square kilometres (20.36 sq mi) and had a population of about 98,000 as at the 2016 Census.

Ardross, Western Australia Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Ardross is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Melville. It was once an area of land acquired by the Scotsman, Sir Alexander Percival Matheson in 1896. In Matheson's subdivision of the adjoining suburb of Applecross, he created "Ardross Street" naming it after either the town of Ardrossan on the Scottish west coast or Ardross Castle, located about 40 kilometers north of Inverness. The suburb derives its name from this street.

Applecross, Western Australia Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Applecross is a riverside suburb of Perth, Western Australia, bounded by Canning Highway and the Swan River. It is located within the City of Melville.

Kardinya, Western Australia Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Kardinya is a suburb 13 kilometres (8 mi) south-southwest of the central business district of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is in the City of Melville local government area. It is predominantly a low-density residential suburb consisting of single-family detached homes. There is a commercial area in the centre of the suburb, with a shopping centre and several other shops. In the northwest is a small light industrial area. Kardinya has a population of 8,730 people.

Canning Highway Highway in Perth, Western Australia

Canning Highway is an arterial road in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner Perth suburb of Victoria Park in the north-east, to the port city of Fremantle in the south-west.

Canning Bridge Bridge in Perth, Western Australia

Canning Bridge is a traffic bridge which is the most downstream crossing of the Canning River in the city of Perth, Western Australia. The bridge is a part of Canning Highway, and it connects the suburbs of Como and Applecross. The Canning River is approximately 100 metres (328 ft) wide at the crossing, the narrowest point of the river along its downstream stretch. It is located near the Canning Bridge railway station.

Victoria Park, Western Australia Suburb of Perth, Western Australia

Victoria Park is an inner south eastern suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its local government area is the Town of Victoria Park.

Queen Victoria Street, Fremantle Road in Fremantle, Western Australia

Queen Victoria Street is the main road entering the city centre of Fremantle, Western Australia from the direction of Perth. The road was originally named Cantonment Road, but was subsequently renamed Victoria Road, and a few years later Queen Victoria Street, after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, to avoid confusion with similarly named roads in the area.

William Garnsworthy Bennett was a Western Australian architect, well known for his Art Deco and Inter-War Functionalist style of civic, commercial and domestic buildings, including the Lord Forrest Olympic Pool in Kalgoorlie, the Beverley Town Hall, the Raffles Hotel and Plaza Theatre and Arcade in Perth.

Plaza Theatre, Perth Cinema in Perth, Australia

The former Plaza Theatre is located at 650–658 Hay Street, Perth, Western Australia. It was the first purpose-designed Art Deco cinema in Perth. The Plaza Theatre opened in 1937 and was built for Hoyts Theatres Ltd.

Lawson Apartments Building in Perth, Western Australia

Lawson Apartments are located at 2–4 Sherwood Court near the corner with The Esplanade, in Perth, Western Australia. They are situated across the road from the Esplanade Reserve and adjacent to the Weld Club.

Wireless Hill Park Park in Ardross, Western Australia

Wireless Hill Park is a 40-hectare (99-acre) park in Ardross, Western Australia that is the location of the former Applecross Wireless Station, an early radio station in Western Australia. The station buildings have been preserved and now house the Wireless Hill Museum. The site is listed in the Register of the National Estate. and the State Register of Heritage Places.

Marich Buildings, Fremantle Heritage listed building in Fremantle, Western Australia

The Marich Buildings is a single two-storey building at the corner of Henry and High Streets in Fremantle, Western Australia, and dates from c1897; there were several single-storey shops on the site including one occupied by butchers Henry Albert & Co.

National Hotel (Fremantle) Building in Fremantle, Western Australia

The National Hotel is on the corner of High and Market Streets Fremantle. Originally built as a shop in 1868, it was occupied by the National Bank in the early 1880s. When the bank relocated in 1886, the building became the National Hotel.

Melbourne Hotel Hotel in Perth, Western Australia

The Melbourne Hotel is a heritage listed landmark hotel in Perth, Western Australia. The hotel is located on the corner of Hay Street and Milligan Street.

Empire Hotel, Fortitude Valley Historic site in Queensland, Australia

Empire Hotel is a heritage-listed hotel at 339 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey and built in 1888 by Smith and Ball. It was renovated in 1925 to a design by Richard Gailey, Junior. It was further renovated in 1937 to incorporate apartments designed by Hall and Phillips. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

Captain Stirling Hotel Hotel in Australia

The Captain Stirling Hotel is a heritage-listed building located at 80 Stirling Highway, Nedlands, Western Australia. The building was designed by Marshall Clifton in 1935, and is an Inter-War Mediterranean/Spanish Mission style two-storey hotel.

P&O Hotel (Fremantle) Heritage-listed building in Fremantle, Western Australia

The P&O Hotel is a heritage listed building located at 25 High Street on the corner of Mouat Street in Fremantle, Western Australia. It was one of many commercial buildings constructed in Fremantle during the gold boom period in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

References

  1. Raffles Hotel may be sold to Perth millionaire ABC News Online, 1 November 2001
  2. Photo of a 1999 campaign action at the hotel on website of Art Deco Society of Western Australia
  3. Minister safeguards future of the Raffles Hotel Archived 26 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Media statement by Hon. Dr Judy Edwards, 16 March 2001
  4. 1 2 3 4 Drummond, Mark (28 October 2006). "Raffles swings back to its heyday of bow ties, gowns". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Assessment Documentation researched for Heritage Council of Western Australia
  6. Harmon, Steph (20 October 2019). "Highway to Hell: 10km of major Perth highway to shut for AC/DC covers concert". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2020.

Further reading